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JULY/AUGUST 2018 VOL. 27 NO. 4

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Contraband Detection Devices

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Precision Substance Abuse Monitoring

Considerations in Outsourcing Medical Care

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MINNESOTA CORRECTIONS OFFICER KILLED BY INMATE Gov. Mark Dayton ordered flags at all state and federal buildings to be flown at half-staff on July 26 to honor the corrections officer who was killed by an inmate at the Stillwater prison the previous week. Officer Joseph B. Gomm, 45, of Blaine, was attacked July 18 inside an industry building at the prison. He is the first corrections officer in Minnesota to be killed while on duty. Inmate Edward Muhammad Johnson, 42, is accused of bludgeoning the corrections officer with a hammer and stabbing him, a source told the Star Tribune. John-

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son was serving a 29-year sentence for killing his Bloomington housemate in 2002. The attack occurred about 1:30 p.m. in an industry building and prompted a temporary lockdown of all state prisons, according to the Department of Corrections, startribune.com reported. Officer Gomm, who had celebrated 16 years on the job the day prior to the attack, was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he died of his injuries. "Officer Gomm was a fine man doing honorable work," said Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy. “Joseph gave the ultimate sacrifice while working to protect the citi-

zens of Minnesota.” After Wednesday’s assault, Johnson was transferred to Oak Park Heights, the state’s only Level 5 maximum-security prison. Johnson was convicted in 2003 of stabbing his roommate, 22-yearold paralegal Brooke Thompson, to death while her 5-year-old daughter was nearby. His parents, both Chicago police officers, died in a 1988 murder-suicide. Johnson was 12 when he watched his father shoot his mother eight times in their home shortly after she filed for divorce, according to the Chicago Tribune. The assault took place in one of the prison’s large industry build-

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ings, where offenders take welding and carpentry classes. “Those work assignments are considered a privilege,” Roy said. Gomm, like most guards, was armed only with pepper spray and a radio. More than 1,600 inmates are housed at the 104-year-old prison, 527 of them sentenced for homicide. Prisoners on average have three prior felonies and 10 prior gross-misdemeanor histories. Roy described Stillwater as a “flagship institution” that houses a significant population of offenders with mental illness and chemical dependency. “Erratic behavior is not uncommon,” he said. Three weeks prior, an Oak Park

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Heights corrections officer was seriously injured during an altercation that threw the facility into lockdown. The officer fought back and was assisted by other guards. The offender is serving a life sentence for aiding and abetting second-degree murder. Charges have yet to be filed in that case, according to the Washington County Attorney’s Office. Earlier this year at Oak Park Heights, several staff members were injured during two fights in the span of a few days. Ten staff members were seen at the hospital and released. “Our officers interact with offenders every day,” Roy said. “I think it’s fair to say the relation-

ships are significant. Offenders know officers, and officers know offenders…and those relationships often keep people safe.” IDAHO INMATES HACKED PRISON-ISSUED TABLETS FOR $225,000 IN CREDITS Inmates in Idaho successfully hacked the software of the prisonissued tablets to issue themselves nearly a quarter of a million dollars in credits on the devices that are often one of their only connections to the outside world. The tablets, made by prominent prison vendor JPay, give inmates the ability to use email, listen to music and transfer money, among other basic computing functions, but

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charge fees for some services. The Associated Press reports that Idaho prison officials discovered 364 inmates leveraging a software vulnerability to increase their JPay account balances. In Idaho, the devices are the result of a partnership between JPay and CenturyLink. The latter company confirmed the software vulnerability but declined to offer further details beyond stating that it had since been resolved. Of the 364 inmates exploiting JPay, 50 inmates were able to issue themselves credits for more than $1,000. One inmate was able to use the software flaw to self-issue a credit of almost $10,000. The company has recovered about a quarter of the total of around $225,000 so far and has suspended some functions for inmates until they reimburse the stolen credits. The individuals exploiting the JPay system are incarcerated at a handful of Idaho prisons, including Idaho State Correctional Institution. The rogue prisoners that were allegedly involved may be disciplined—meaning they could lose privileges and may be reclassified to a higher security risk level. Officials say it was "intentional exploitation," while some inmates' families described it as more of a "glitch," according to an updated AP report. Officials said the improper credits occurred when individuals placed products in their digital shopping carts and then removed them in a way that created a credit that was added to their total funds available. JPay said it’s working on improving its software to avoid problems in the future, according to a report in the New York Post. 12 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

“While the vast majority of individuals use our secure technology appropriately, we are continually working to improve our products to prevent any attempts at misuse,” JPay spokesperson Jade Trombetta said in a prepared statement. "These products help incarcerated Americans stay connected with loved ones, provide access to educational tools, assist in the rehabilitation process and offer other services that would otherwise be unavailable in jails and prisons," Trombetta said. NEWSPAPER HELPS OHIO'S INMATES REBUILD THEIR LIVES It was March 2017 and Tracy Brumfield had just gotten home from working the night shift at an addiction treatment center when the phone rang. Aurore Fournier, the program director with nonprofit People's Liberty, told Brumfield she had won a $100,000 grant to help her launch a newspaper aimed at helping Cincinnati's incarcerated population get the help they need to rebuild their lives and stay out of jail, according to online webzine CNN Money. The newspaper, which Brumfield named RISE, offers resources on housing, jobs, education, health care and addiction treatment centers. It also shares the personal stories of inmate's struggle, hope and empowerment. "People who are in jail, especially those for the first time, are scared and ashamed. They don't know how to ask for help or where to get it," Brumfield said. "We want to help them get back on their feet when they do come back into society." For Brumfield, 51, the mission is personal.

For her, what began as an addiction to painkillers progressed to heroin use. She had been in and out of drug treatment programs a few times, but would always relapse. Then, in 2010, she was arrested and charged with felony drug possession. And in 2012, her own long struggle with addiction resulted in jail time for probation violations. But by 2014 she wanted to change. She worked on her recovery for two years while volunteering and mentoring women in the Cincinnati jails and working a $10 an hour night-shift as an aide at an addiction treatment center. That's when the idea for RISE struck her. Within a month of finding out she won the grant, Brumfield, who had worked in magazine publishing, had put a small editorial team in place—a writer, a designer, a managing editor and an intern— and contracted with a vendor to print the paper. The grant covered those expenses for six issues. The first issue of RISE launched in August 2017 with a run of 5,000 copies. The paper is currently on its ninth issue and is distributed for free every five weeks. Half the distribution goes to correctional facilities, while the rest goes to places like health clinics, shelters and food banks. More than 40,000 copies have been distributed to five correctional facilities in three counties between Ohio and Kentucky so far. Brumfield has already raised an additional $112,000 to keep RISE going in its second year of operation. The funding includes contributions from Scripps Howard Foundation, Duke Energy Foundation, Proctor & Gamble, Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and the

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Haile Foundation. Brumfield says she needs another $10,000 to meet her annual operating budget. NEW ILLINOIS TASK FORCE AIMS TO CUT FEMALE PRISON POPULATION IN HALF A 50 percent reduction in the number of women incarcerated in Illinois prisons is the goal of a new task force organized by the Women's Justice Institute. An event was scheduled for July 18 in Chicago to kick off the seven-year plan to cut the state's female population of about 2,100 women held in facilities in Decatur and Lincoln, according to the Herald&Review. The 100-member task force of women includes officials from the Illinois Department of Corrections; formerly incarcerated women; staff from jails, prisons and the courts; social services and academia. "Women are the fastest growing prison and jail population in the U.S. and this effort is about uniting women to redefine narratives and confront these trends," said Deanne Benos, co-founder of the Women's Justice Institute and a former state corrections official. Benos noted the opioid epidemic in Illinois is driving an increase in the number of women entering the prison system from rural counties, including McLean County. While the overall prison numbers, including the female population, continues a downward trend, the number of women sent to prison from McLean County went from 17 in 2012 to 26 in 2017, according to the institute. Most women "are incarcerated for low-level, nonviolent offenses," said Liz Barnhart, a consultant with the Center for Court Innovation and McLean County Court 14 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

Services, noting the U.S. leads the rest of the world in the number of women behind bars. IDOC Assistant Director Gladyse Taylor and Carolyn Gurski, chief of the newly formed Women's Division at IDOC, will lead a team on implementing the landmark Women's Correctional Services Act passed into law in 2017, which improved standards for women's prison and parole systems. The approach, used to reduce the state's juvenile population by 62 percent starting in 2005, will be considered by the new task force. Prevention, diversion, recidivism reduction, disciplinary policy changes, and alternatives to incarceration will be part of the plan to move and keep women out of prison. "In order to improve public safety and create an effective justice system, it has become clear that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work," said Paula Wolff, a member of the task force who played a leading role in the state's strategy on juvenile offenders. The documented differences between male and female inmates shows the complex nature of helping women, according to the institute. Nearly 100 percent of female offenders have experienced sexual and/or domestic violence and at least 75 percent have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the institute. Women also have higher rates of drug use than their male counterparts and are more likely to be custodial parents to children who are at greater risk of becoming involved in the justice system, said institute data. Leading the task force will be Pam Rodriguez, CEO of Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities,

and Colette Payne, who was incarcerated five times, starting at age 14, and now works as a community organizer for Cabrini Green Legal Aid. COLLEGE DEGREE OPTIONS ARE DISAPPEARING FOR WOMEN IN TEXAS PRISONS The only bachelor’s degree programs available to women incarcerated in the Texas prison system are ending. By 2020, Texas A&M University-Central says it will completely phase out three four-year degree programs it offers to women at several state prisons in Gatesville, and the university hasn’t been taking new students at the lockups since spring 2017, reports the Texas Observer, an Austin-based nonprofit news organization. The move would widen the gap in educational opportunities available for men and women in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), leaving women with access to only an associate’s degree. Men can earn up to a master’s behind bars in Texas. A report on gender disparities, which was published by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, are vehemently disputed by the TDCJ. The state’s spokesperson Jeremy Desel said in July that the agency is working to save the programs, but he didn’t provide more detail on what it’s doing to address any of the challenges that made the school plan its exit from the Gatesville prisons in the first place. “I really think the whole system just needs to be evaluated,” said Lindsey Linder, an attorney who wrote the criminal justice coalition’s report. “They need to do a deep dive on what they’re offering, how effective is, and what the barriers to entry are.”

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BY DONNA ROGERS, EDITOR

Contraband Detection Devices

It can be a matter of life and death for corrections officers. Making certain inmates do not have weapons, cell phones, drugs or implements to escape is always utmost in their minds. The following electronics—from see-through security products and metal detectors to data mining analytical tools—are some of the latest technologies their superiors can add to their toolbox to keep them safe.

Security Checkpoint Metal Detectors Garrett Metal Detectors, made in America since 1964, is one of the most trusted names in security metal detectors, the company states. Garrett provided the first walk-through and held-held metal detectors used for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and continues to provide high quality security checkpoint metal detectors for all types of public domains, including: schools and universities, stadiums and sporting venues, mass transit terminals, airports, national landmarks, courthouses, government buildings, prisons, corporate security, hospitals, and entertainment events. www.garrett.com security@garrett.com 1.800.234.6151 1.972.494.6151 16 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

Rooting Out Contraband At Its Source A leader in Intelligence-LedCorrections concepts, GTL combats contraband cellular devices through a three-tiered D.E.A. (Detection, Extraction, Analysis) approach. Rather than simply focusing on treating contraband symptoms, GTL's strategy and tools seek to identify and eliminate the root source of contraband. Focusing this segment on analysis only, Data IQ serves as the primary data mining and link analysis application, designed to integrate innumerable disparate data sources into a single application, thus mitigating analysts from having to login to multiple systems. The ability to efficiently and effectively develop clear corVISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET

CREDIT: COURTESY OF GTL

A case of how link analysis aided facility investigators in identifying offenders associated with contraband phones.

relations among data sets is critical to developing actionable intelligence that leads to the source of the cellular contraband. This comprehensive approach and solution results in safer communities for all. www.gtl.net/correctional-facility-services/investigative-intelligencesolutions/data-analysis/ marketinginfo@gtl.net 1.800.306.2957

Wide Range of Security Products

CEIA metal detectors fully comply with the requirements of the NIJ0601.02 Standard for all security levels, and can therefore be applied in situaVISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET

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tions from the inspection of visitors to that of inmates in topsecurity checkpoints, even in areas with strong electrical and mechanical interferences. NIJSTD-0601.02 established new requirements of Sensitivity, Discrimination and Immunity for metal detectors used in Law Enforcement and Correctional Facilities. The three levels of security specified by the standard (Large, Medium and Small object

size) define different possible treatments for prison visitors or inmates. CEIA provides metal detectors specifically designed to comply with the different security levels of the standard. Along with the guarantee of extremely high security, CEIA metal detectors allow desired transit flow rates to be achieved, the company states. Key CEIA products include: The affordable HI-PE Plus

Walk-Through Metal Detector (WTMD) with superior performance to detect guns, knives and cell phones. The SMD600 Plus WTMD detects the smallest, most challenging threats and is National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Standard compliant. The PD140E Hand-Held Metal Detector (HHMD) has a compact and lightweight design, combines consistent performance and calibration-free operations and operates indoor and outdoor. The PD240 HHMD has a wide search area that combines high reliability with advanced detection and operator signaling features. It operates indoor and outdoor and provides floor rebar rejection. The EMIS-MAIL tabletop metal detector detects concealed metal threats in mail and parcels including detonators, batteries, trigger circuits and other metal components of parcel bombs without false alarms for nonthreat items such as metal staples, paper clips, and metal binding spirals. www.ceia.usa.com security@ceia-usa.com 1.330.405.3190

Wireless Containment Securus Technologies has a solution to the growing threat of cellphones in jails and prisons. Wireless Containment Solution (WCS) is a proven system safeguarding the public from illegal cellphone communications. With WCS, all contraband cellphone signals within a facility’s designated areas are detected and monitored on a continuous 24/7/365 basis by Securus. “What sets WCS apart from metal detectors, body searches and simple electronic detection is that WCS prevents communications from contraband cell phones, while also providing the agency a real-time dashboard with actionable intelligence 18 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

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is also capable of identifying the drone pilot’s location, to assist in apprehension. “While drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be fun for hobbyists and videographers, they are also the latest technology used to introduce contraband such as drugs, weapons and cellphones into corrections facilities,” observes Mark Southland of Securus. “Since the launch of this program, we are assisting corrections agencies in

their battle against contraband deliveries by drones each and every day.” Coupled with WCS and other Securus technology, Securus is providing a multi-layered defense solution to the most significant issues within corrections. Its mission is to provide a safer environment for both the public and corrections. Mark Southland, 1.972.277.0687 Continues on page 45

investigators can use,” says Mark Southland of Securus. “In our 16 installations, we have already disarmed drug rings and stopped potential hits and escape attempts.” Securus believes in keeping jails, prisons and the public safe, and is doing something about it every day with WCS. WCS improves shakedown results and gives officers a better understanding of contraband introduction methods and cycles. Combined with the intelligence delivered, WCS is making a real difference in fighting the contraband cellphone battle, the company says. Mark Southland, 1.972.277.0687

Drone Detection Securus’ drone detection solution (DDS) uses AeroDefense’s AirWarden TM , which is a radio frequency-based system using signal intelligence to identify, classify and pinpoint incoming drones and alert corrections facility staff of contraband drops. The system VISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET

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BY G.F. GUERCIO, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Substance Abuse Monitoring: Trends, Issues and Technologies in Community Corrections

Baseball’s heating up the summer with the Yanks and Sox battling for first place. The NBA drafts are talking it up. NHL news is signings and disappointment for some Islander Tavares fans. The football teams are readying their rosters and playbooks. Meanwhile, in one day’s read of the newspaper four NFL players are suspended for using controlled substances, Russia’s Maria Sharapova is climbing back into the tennis ranks after a ban, and Tour de France’s Chris Froome rides amid taunts despite being cleared of doping allegations. Substance abuse seems woven into the fabric of our society. Whether it is equal parts perfor20 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

mance-enhancing lure, frat-party mentality, or an opioid epidemic crackdown, the fallout lands on the shoulders of community corrections. In its latest report dated March 9, 2018, The Center for Disease Control (CDC) documents opioid overdose visits to the emergency department increased by 30 percent from July 2016 to September 2017. As of June 24, 2016, statistics stated sales of—and deaths from—prescription opioids have nearly quadrupled in the United States since 1999. And according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), every day almost 30 people in the United States die in alcohol-

impaired vehicle crashes—that's one person every 50 minutes in 2016. Drunk-driving fatalities have fallen by a third in the last three decades; however, drunkdriving crashes claim more than 10,000 lives per year.

Decrease in drunk driving Increase in drugged driving Despite the long-term down trend in drunk driving rates reported by NHTSA, there is a significant increase in rates of drugged driving as observed by the CDC and other agencies, points out Brian Shaffer, technical specialist, USA Alcohol & Drug Detection, Dräger, Inc. “To combat drugged driving, we fully support programs that provide

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OraSure’s Intercept i2he Oral Fluid device.

law enforcement personnel specialized training to better identify and screen impairment by drugs in the field.” An example of such a program is the IACP’s (International Association of Chiefs of Police) Drug Evaluation and Classification Program (DECP) that trains Drug Recognition Experts, he informs. The Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) is another example of a program to assist law enforcement personnel in its training needs. He says Dräger is stepping up with its DrugTest 5000 oral fluid test for detection of the most common classes of abused drugs. Quick, hygienic, and accurate, the non-invasive test works for impaired driving investigations, probation, parole, drug court, and field applications. Dräger is also introducing the Alcotest 5000 alcohol screening device, which allows for rapid screening of alcohol exceeding a set threshold. “This allows probation, 24/7 programs, school resource officers and other high-throughput applications to test a large quantity of individuals in a very short time, eliminating the per-test consumable costs associated with mouthpieces,” Shaffer says. Subjects who exceed the set threshold can be further tested on traditional screening devices to obtain specific BAC (blood alcohol content) percentages. In this market, observes June E. Fields, senior regional account executive, Substance Abuse Testing and Wellness Programs, OraSure Technologies, Inc., FDA

(Food and Drug Administration) clearance is becoming more important to end-users as they seek more accurate drug testing devices. Having an FDA-cleared test assures the end-user that the testing device is "at least safe and effective, that is, substantially equivalent, to a legally-marketed device." She adds that DOT (Department of Transportation) approval of oral fluid collection devices is also on the horizon as lab-based oral fluid collection devices are being considered for approval by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). The trends in oral fluid collection devices, says Fields, are moving towards those with a volume adequacy indicator, larger sample volumes for larger drug panels, along with the end-users’ ability to customize their own drug panels that test for the ever-changing drugs that are trending such as fentanyl, oxycodone, buprenorphine, tramadol, ketamine, K2 (Spice) and more. “End-users need to become more educated about drug testing as these trends change and alternative modes of drug testing are being developed and marketed. Laboratories are also busy keeping up with the changing compounds that make up K2 (Spice), as well as staying abreast of changing drug trends for future research and development,” she points out. One of the issues facing oral collections Fields says is the decision to self-collect or allow a third party to collect the oral fluid specimen. “End-users are seeing the benefits of testing using oral fluids but are torn

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regarding who should collect the specimen—possibly due to trust issues within their agencies. Selfcollections are certainly more economical and allow more control of the collection process, saving time and money.” As a leader in research, education and tools, Fields reveals their latest advancement in oral fluid collection as the Intercept i2he Oral Fluid Collection device. “Now with collections made even easier, this device features a volume adequacy indicator, increasing the precision of collected sample volumes, an average of a 3-minute collection, ergonomic collector design for comfortable end-user experience, and larger sample volume collected for larger drug panels. Our lab partner has one of the industry's largest comprehensive oral fluid testing panels with over 35-plus drugs including trends in drug abuse” as previously listed. Remote monitoring technology has also evolved during the

SoberTrack Mobile Breath Alcohol Unit from Satellite Tracking of People (STOP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Securus Technologies, Inc. CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018 21

Dräger Alcotest 5000 screening at the roadside.

last few years, says Securus Technologies, Inc., Electronic Monitoring Division’s VP of Sales and Marketing, Jose Andrade, mainly to be less intrusive and more efficient. He says he sees the technology split into two or three variations. “Attached to the body: These devices operate with body sweat and can measure when there’s a presence of alcohol through the sample of perspiration. It can take samples every 30 minutes, but the data will stay on the device until the offender reaches a place where data can be downloaded.” The challenge, he says, is there’s no way to know where the offender was at the time of the test and to download the data more than once a day, you must facilitate the means to transmit the data. “Remote breath alcohol monitoring: With these portable devices where the offender blows through a straw using an accurate fuel cell for the presence of alcohol in the system, not only can you do multiple random or scheduled tests throughout the day, the results come back immediately through integrated cellular communication. Furthermore, 22 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

this device includes GPS, so you know the location where the test was taken and where the device was before and after the test.” The device is anti-tamper, has a long battery life, and takes photo/video at the time of the test to make sure the individual is the right person. “Remote breath alcohol monitoring attached to a cellphone: This is very similar to the second variation, except that the software is an app on a phone that integrates via bluetooth to the breath alcohol device,” he says. As a final plus, Andrade adds, “The devices will continue to reduce in size, increase their battery life and offer more software features for the agencies. As cellular technology improves, these devices will follow by further improving the transmission of data.” Felix J.E. Comeau, chairman and chief executive officer at Alcohol Countermeasure Systems (ACS), details more specifics on transmission of data. “These devices record details of date, time, and breath test results for each event, as well as optional information such as GPS location and photo; devices are able to manually transfer data for realtime reporting to meet jurisdictional program requirements; devices can be equipped with GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) connectivity to provide instant notifications of test results and any violations.” He explains GPRS is a packet-based wireless communication service that promises data rates from 56 up to 114 Kbps and continuous connection to the internet for mobile phone and computer users. Comeau describes ACS’s RELIANT EMU (Electronic Monitoring Unit) which is a portable breath alcohol tester connected to a smartphone used in electronic monitoring programs for subjects on pretrial, parole, probation or court order to observe alcohol-free behavior in community supervision, home

confinement or 24/7 applications. “RELIANT EMU uses a high performance electrochemical (fuel cell) sensor for breath alcohol measurement that provides rapid response and resilience to drift, ensuring long-term reliability and accuracy. RELIANT EMU records the results of each breath sample with time, date, and GPS location to enhance compliance monitoring and deter circumvention, and may be configured to send alert messages when the alcohol level is at or above preset levels. The subject is enrolled through an online portal and the RELIANT app is installed on a smartphone to provide secure communication with the central database.” The only issue Comeau cites is repeat offenders: The need is to “have all states enforce 24/7 sobriety programs—a seven-daya-week, yearlong monitoring program for offenders who have committed crimes related to drugs and alcohol. The benefits of 24/7 sobriety programs ensures the offender does not drink or take drugs during the term of their sentence; this attacks addiction and reduces the likelihood for re-offenses, and enhances public safety.” He relates the cost: “Many sobriety programs are paid for by the offender with little or no cost to taxpayers,” and are easy to deploy: “Courses are available to walk offenders through the process.” ✪

For more information contact: OraSure Technologies, Inc., #followtheleaderinoralfluiddrugtesting, www.orasure.com Alcohol Countermeasure Systems, Inc., sales@alcolockusa.com, 1.888.937.9646, www.alcolockusa.com Draeger, Inc., 1.800.4DRAGER, www.draeger.com Securus Technologies, Inc. Electronic Monitoring Division, Jose Andrade, jandrade@securustechnologies.com, 1.832.553.9505

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BY MICHAEL GROHS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Outsourcing Medical Services A look at the many considerations.

here is a lot to consider when it comes to correctional health care. There are 2.3 million inmates in the U.S., and traditionally the inmate population is not a healthy population. In one Harvard report, 40% of inmates reported having had a chronic medical condition such as cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, kidney problems, arthritis, asthma, and

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cirrhosis of the liver. Twenty-one percent of prisoners reported having an infectious disease, including tuberculosis, hepatitis, and other STDs. High blood pressure is the most common affliction, and nearly three quarters (74%) of all inmates were found to be overweight, obese, or morbidly obese. That is a lot to consider for a facility whose primary function is providing security rather than health care. On top of those considerations is the sheer complexi-

ty of health care, which in general warrants a higher level of expertise. Robert May, sr. vice president, Marketing and Development at Centurion, points out that about half the states as well as hundreds of county and municipal jails outsource health care services. There are benefits. There is cost containment. Health care costs are “highly volatile and represent a large line item in the budgets of correctional systems.” In order to

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Attracting and retaining enough qualified professionals to meet the clinical needs of inmates is a challenge.

control these costs, correctional systems need the same high level of care and coordination expertise that is found in the community setting. May furthers that staffing can be problematic. Prisons and jails are unique environments with unique protocols, and a sound health care program requires a staff of administrative and clinical professionals working as a team. Attracting and retaining enough qualified professionals to meet the clinical needs of inmates is a challenge. Correctional facilities are deeply affected by the shortage of health care professionals and may not have the expertise and resources to recruit health care professionals to work in the challenging environment. “Our company invests in recruiting and attracting qualified staff on a national 28 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

level. We promote corrections as a positive career choice for health care professionals, overcoming negative stereotypes of prisons and jails, and leading professionals to seriously consider the merits of practicing in a correctional setting.” Clinical services and programming is an evolving aspect of the healthcare industry. Says May, “As a national company, we stay abreast of the latest advances in health care, medicine, and behavioral health. We are active participants in the national dialogue on correctional health care, and we bring sound clinical services and programming to correctional agencies.” Private companies that specialize in correctional health care will have staff dedicated to networking and developing relationships with hospitals and specialists in the surrounding com-

munities. They can also have buying power and the ability to acquire services and supplies at discounted rates as well as being able to monitor the quality of outside providers. Christopher Bell, vice president of Development at Southern Health Partners (SHP) furthers that there has been an overall decrease in correctional patient health in past years. People are on more medications or have greater overall health issues, and when considering longer stays in jails or prisons, this is a concern for correctional facilities. Having professionals manage this function can hopefully limit exposure to and provide quality health care services to patients. Furthermore, says Bell, retention of medical staff is easier for a medical company than a “security minded county entity.” Health

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care partners have professionals with years of experience managing patient care in corrections, similar to those correctional experts who manage inmates, arrestees, or detainees on the security side. “It’s a true partnership in most all cases, where we rely on each other to take care of the needs of the both short-term and long-term residents of correctional facilities, to provide the best care, and the most affordable cost. We are stewards of taxpayer funds and take the role in that regard very seriously.” Health provider organizations rely on the experience of many professionals who have direct hands-on correctional experience, so they can relate to the issues law enforcement professionals deal with every day. Says Bell, “Part of our role as partners is to prepare and work with our agencies to be ahead of the needs that are coming in the future and help us all avoid high cost health care issues.” SHP’s role as a partner involves working with finding effective practitioners for each site and fitting the program and plan to the site’s need because the need is different for each facility.

Managing ‘Risk Exposure’ Says Harbin, “We also bring the back-office resources to track and process insurance claims and audit in-patient billing. For example, we recovered almost a million dollars in a single year for one of our clients, a 1,500-bed jail. Another time-consuming back-office responsibility that we take off of our clients’ plates is the tracking of staff credentialing

and licenses. Finally, a health care provider may help agencies manage their risk exposure, an important consideration in the highly litigious correctional environment.” On that aspect, May also points out, health care services is a common source of litigation for correctional agencies. The expertise in staffing and clinical management available from private correctional healthcare companies helps correctional agencies ensure a constitutional

Internal Specialty Care Martha Harbin, director of External Affairs at Corizon, further points out that traditionally specialty care has required off-site transport of inmate-patients to a community provider. This has been known to be a public safety risk that necessitates extra correctional officers to accompany the patient. Correctional health care providers can minimize off-site transport by creating specialty care clinics inside the facility. “We also provide a higher level of acute care in the prison or jail infirmary, which may help reduce in-patient hospital stays or decrease the length of hospitalizations, a significant cost and safety issue for corrections.” VISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET

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level of care is provided to inmates. Bradford McLane, chief of Administration at Naphcare, points out that there are two approaches that work well for their clients: comprehensive care and software services. Under both, they are able to work with clients to implement proactive care to assess and stabilize patients coming into the jail, provide care during their stay, and connect patients to continued care upon release. “Under the comprehensive health care model, NaphCare manages medical and mental health services under a collaborative public/private partnership with our government clients. Under the software services model, our government clients utilize government employees to provide medical and mental health care and contract with NaphCare to provide its proprietary electronic health record and operating system. Under both models, NaphCare is able to help our clients provide higher quality care and reduce liability.”

Jails Versus Prisons Jails and prisons have different needs. As May says, “From a health care standpoint, jails are like emergency rooms, and prisons are like nursing homes.” Jails receive inmates off the street, and as a result they are required to deal with acute medical, psychiatric, and substance abuse issues upon intake. The volume of intakes and the transient nature of jails create numerous challenges. Says May, from an outsourcing standpoint, since jails are tied to a county or municipal government, they often have access to local resources such as public health departments, hospitals, and mental health centers, and often these entities are involved in providing medical services at the local jail; however, the same challenges for cost, staffing, and expertise exist in jail settings 30 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

that do in prison settings, and jails of all sizes frequently outsource health care services in whole or in part. SHP specializes in working with local and county facilities that range in size from 25 to 1,000. Says Bell, “We believe our work and expertise fits this type of model of care, and we want to be the best provider in that size range of patients.” Jails, he points out, deal with short-term, transitional patients. “We see more emergent health care needs

patient, identify the patient’s medical and mental health care needs, and act quickly to stabilize the patient by starting needed medications and the provision of health care and mental health services as soon as possible.”

Outsourcing Individual Functions May notes that there is no cookie-cutter approach to outsourcing health care services. Some agencies consolidate all services under a single contract,

Bradford McLane: “I would advise any government leader who is considering privatizing health care to not privatize in a piecemeal fashion; either have one team of government employees provide the care or trust one company to manage a comprehensive medical and mental health program…” (withdrawal, asthma, hypertension), which need to be controlled during their short stay, so there’s a lot of initial care being given to patients upon intake. For prisons, we see long-term care issues, so an aging population can mean more ongoing treatment plans rather than stabilization.” In general, says Harbin, specialty services may be brought inside the prison walls more easily because the size of the population is large enough to offset the cost of creating particular clinics. For example, OB/GYN services may be provided inside a women’s prison, but females in a county jail may visit a community provider. “More and more, these lines are blurring as county jails see larger numbers of mentally ill patients, women and substance abuse.” McLane also compares jails to emergency rooms with new patients regularly entering the jail with serious medical and mental health needs. “In the jail environment, health care programs must be designed to quickly assess the

which includes staff, management, offsite services, medications, and electronic records systems. Other facilities may obtain services by category such as mental health, medical, or pharmacy on a facility-by-facility basis. Says Bell, “Our recommendations are always to do what is best for the client/county/city agency. That may involve discussing services that are involving local partners as well.” Given the acuity of health issues found in jails, Bell recommends a full-service provider rather than piecing projects to several providers. “Working together with the common goal of quality services is key, but when you have several separate groups, it can get confusing quickly as to responsibility levels.” Harbin notes that it is not uncommon for various services to be outsourced under individual contracts. Most commonly there may be a separation between medical, mental health, and pharmacy; however, the best outcomes have been in systems that consolidate services because

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it better allows for an integrated approach to patient care, which SAMHSA-HRSA recommends as the most effective approach to care for people with comorbid conditions, which most incarcerated patients have. McLane notes that sometimes local governments will pursue “hybrid” approaches where a private company and city or county

To Outsource or Not Agencies will undoubtedly have questions about whether or not to outsource. The real issue, says Bell, becomes, “Where do I feel the pain the most?” In other words, facilities honestly need to say to themselves, “I am a correctional facility and security management expert, not necessarily a health care professional, so maybe I should look to

“Agencies should view outsourcing health care services as ‘engaging’ the resources and expertise of a qualified vendor instead of ‘turning over’ health care services to a third party,” says May. Harbin agrees about the significance of that partnership. “The most important aspect to outsourcing medical services is how strongly the agency is willing to partner

In one Harvard report, 40% of inmates reported having had a chronic medical condition such as cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, kidney problems, arthritis, asthma, and cirrhosis of the liver.

share health care responsibilities, or where medical and mental health care are handled by different providers. These models, he furthers, are not as effective and create challenges. “I would advise any government leader who is considering privatizing health care to not privatize in a piecemeal fashion; either have one team of government employees provide the care or trust one company to manage a comprehensive medical and mental health program and work with your correctional health care partner in a collaborative and cooperative fashion to help that company succeed.” 32 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

them to manage the patients’ health.” It is a common discussion where agencies are reaching out. One misnomer, says May, is that health care costs are or can be fixed at a level rate for several years. When considering outsourcing, agencies should seek an actuarially sound approach to financing inmate health care services whether they are outsourced to a private company or managed internally. Health care costs fluctuate year over year. The key, says May, is for the agency to review and understand their health care costs in real time as well as forecast cost trends in the future in partnership with their vendor.

with their provider. Clinical and security staff must respect each other’s roles and communicate effectively to maintain the safety of inmates, officers, and health services staff,” Harbin stresses. McLane’s recommendation is for government leaders to begin by considering the opportunities for better use of technology to improve care. “A number of correctional healthcare providers are still using paper records or antiquated or poorly functioning software systems. An effective electronic operating system and electronic health record can dramatically improve health care and reduce costs.” ✪

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PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS REPORT:

STATE PRISONS AND THE DELIVERY OF HOSPITAL CARE How states set up and finance off-site care for incarcerated individuals.

elivering adequate medical care to the more than 1 million adults in state prisons is a growing challenge for states, in part because of the high costs and complex logistics required to hospitalize people who are incarcerated, according to a new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts. While most care for incarcerated individuals is delivered onsite, some of them periodically need to be hospitalized for acute or specialized care. Hospitalization expenses are already a significant portion of correctional health care spending and are likely to grow if prison trends continue. The average age of those behind bars is rising, and the health needs of these individuals are more extensive than those of younger cohorts, including more hospitalizations. Looming over these considerations is the future direction of national health care policy, especially the role of Medicaid, the federal-state program for lowincome individuals. With these challenges in mind, The Pew Charitable Trusts 34 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

explored hospital care for people incarcerated in state prisons, tapping data from two nationwide surveys conducted by Pew and the Vera Institute of Justice and from interviews with more than 75 state officials. This first-of-itskind analysis of hospital care for this patient population is part of a broader examination by Pew of correctional health care in the United States. This report discusses the ways states arrange and pay for hospital care for their incarcerated population and how such care supplements on-site prison health services. Its findings include: • Off-site care costs are a significant part of correctional health budgets. For example, Virginia spent 27 percent of its prison health care budget on off-site hospital care in 2015, while New York spent 23 percent. • The health care delivery model that state prisons use to provide on-site services informs decisions they must make regarding hospitalization arrangements, including who holds authority to send some-

one off-site, how the care is coordinated and reviewed, and which entity pays the bill. • The federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) offers state policymakers who elect to expand their Medicaid program’s eligibility a way to reduce inpatient hospital spending. • Though incarcerated individuals always will need to be treated at hospitals for certain conditions or tests, some states have promising practices to avert some off-site care, saving money and mitigating public safety risks The report’s discussion of state approaches to providing care to incarcerated individuals is designed to help the officials involved in setting hospitalization policy—lawmakers, prison and hospital medical staff and administrators, correctional officers, and sometimes private contractors—better manage costs while working toward or maintaining a high-performing prison health care system. ✪ For the full report see: pewtrusts.org/correctionalhealth

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BY DONNA ROGERS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Restorative Justice in Practice The Community Justice Network of Vermont

A spotlight on restorative responses to conflict and crime as an alternative to traditional criminal prosecution and punishment.

the 2013 film This is Martin Bonner, Martin has just moved to Nevada from the East Coast, leaving behind his two adult children and the life he spent 20 years building. He’s working a new job as the volunteer coordinator for a nonprofit organization that helps recentlyreleased prisoners transition back to society. At the same time, Travis Holloway is being released from state prison after serving 12 years. As Travis struggles to get back on his feet he reaches out to Martin for support, and the story centers on the unlikely friendship that develops between the two men as they both begin their lives again. While no major epiphanies are

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revealed, the story is a contemplative character study of two men starting over, and the way in which encouragement eases their way through this transitional phase of their lives. Restorative justice, or RJ, while not a mentoring program per se, is a community-based alternative to traditional criminal justice prosecution. While the program may encompass mentoring, it goes beyond that. The idea is to bring together a victim of a crime, the person who committed the crime and anyone else impacted, and resolve it with justice, accountability and restoration. All the parties with a stake in the offense resolve collectively to deal with the aftermath of the offense and its implications for the future, according to a United

Nations working group on the matter. An example is the Community Justice Network of Vermont (CJNVT), a nonprofit organization whose members share a belief in the importance and efficacy of restorative responses to conflict and crime as an alternative to traditional criminal prosecution, punishment, and retribution. In 1998, the Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) initiated partnerships with municipalities to develop community justice centers (CJCs) to deliver restorative justice to and with communities. Currently there are 20 community justice centers in Vermont, and the CJNVT serves as a place where members—organizations or indi-

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viduals—can share ideas, promote best practices, and support communities as they create restorative, inclusive solutions to the problems of conflict and crime. The justice centers rely on community volunteers who donate hundreds of hours to help deliver programs that help repair the harm caused by crime and conflict in communities throughout Vermont. CJCs also play a key role in successful restorative reentry of people who have been incarcerated as they return to their communities, providing intensive support services for employment, housing, mentoring, social life, and reparations. The RJ process is well entrenched in the state and takes a variety of forms. “We started out with the intention to focus on the communities that were affected, and to give them a voice and a choice on how things are made right,” says Carol Plante, chair of the board for CJNVT and

The idea is to bring together a victim of a crime, the person who committed the crime and anyone else impacted, and resolve it with justice, accountability and restoration.

director of the Hardwick Area Community Justice Center, a CJC in northern Vermont. Restorative justice is a way to hold people accountable who are responsible for a crime and ask them to make

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amends in the incident. Those who are accepted into the RJ program in Vermont come from all points on the criminal justice spectrum, Plante explains. Referrals come to them at the

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Restorative Justice focuses on harm to victims and community. By working collaboratively with victims, offenders, and community members to repair the harm, the aim is to restore relationships that have been broken by the offense.

pre-charge level, at pre-adjudication, probation and at parole. And they come from a wide variety of sources—police departments, the courts, probation, town governance, even an individual can request it, she notes. RJ follows along the continuum to best serve each participant in different ways including mediation, community forums and family group conferences. While it’s on their official order, she emphasizes, it is voluntary, and it is not recommended that they just go through the motions. “We want them to find ways to be accountable. We ask that they think about the decision-making process that led up to their incident, and consider it a way to lead them to not reoffend.”

Circles of Support & Accountability A large category of people the justice centers work with are high-risk offenders coming out of corrections—and a fair number of these are sex offenders and most38 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

ly men, explains Plante. This type of offender goes through a more intensive process that employs what Vermont calls Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA). These are groups of three to five volunteers and a staff person who work with a “core member” who is returning to their community from prison, on what is called “conditional furlough” status. The core member has completed their minimum sentence but still has at least a year to serve before reaching their maximum. First instituted in Canada, CoSAs in Vermont provide core members with a support group committed to working with them for a year to help them get back on their feet and be law-abiding citizens. While offering support in the form of rides, conversation, and understanding, they also help core members hold themselves accountable for following the rules and behaving in a pro-social manner, according to the group’s web site. Initially, the CoSA reentry program in Vermont was funded by

the Second Chance Act of 2007, and early reports were optimistic. According to a 2013 Executive Summary Prepared for the State of Vermont Department of Corrections by Kathryn J. Fox, Ph.D.: “Although too small a sample to determine definitively, CoSA is very promising as a recidivism reduction tool,” she wrote. “Only 1 out 21 offenders (less than 5%) with a CoSA team received a charge for a new crime during the time period of the study from 2010-2013.” The evaluation found that CoSAs fill the gap that exists between programming inside prison and compliance and supervision in the community by probation and parole. The gap for high-risk offenders exists because of one or more of these factors: • lack of support from family or friends; • institutionalized sense of self because of a long term of confinement; • relationship and life skill deficits. “It’s about relationships,” Plante reiterates. Program leaders

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try to match the person who committed the crime with someone who is a match personalitywise, she says. It’s about welcoming them and embracing them in a nonjudgmental way, she furthers. The CoSA team will not give up on them even if they committed a violation, she adds. She describes one client at her justice center who has been incarcerated most of his life and for the past eight years. With no family left and no friends in the community, the team began working with him over a year ago while he was still in prison to find affordable and appropriate housing. The CoSA program “is very successful,” she says, adding that, after all, “we are all human beings even if a person committed egregious offenses.” The DOC’s Executive Summary pointed out that CoSA works in part “because of the role of unpaid, nonprofessional volun-

teers.” Several core members mentioned in interviews that it mattered substantially that the people spending their time devoted to supporting them and holding them accountable were volunteers. The report furthered: “Paid staff might be appreciated, and they were, but it might not elicit the same sense of obligation that the generosity of volunteers did.” Volunteers are at the core of the program’s success and Plante says they have volunteers that come forward who are not only retirees but young people in their 20s and 30s. “We’ve had a new surge,” she says. “People seem to be paying attention, and they want a different way.” She points to the #blacklivesmatter and the #metoo movements as impetus to spark conversations about criminal justice. “There is a huge need for reforms in our criminal justice system. There are way too many incarcer-

ated with sentences that don’t make sense. Restorative justice is a piece of that, an obligation to take care of your community.”

Mediation and restorative justice Restorative justice focuses on harm to victims and community. By working collaboratively with victims, offenders, and community members to repair the harm, the aim is to restore relationships that have been broken by the offense. Restorative justice recognizes that it is not always possible to replace what a victim lost in the aftermath of an offense, but the goal is to settle the matter as much as possible. In the process, it aims to restore the offender to a law-abiding life, and repair the damage caused by the offense to the community. Restorative justice offers a range of benefits. First recidivism:

Victims’ needs are acknowledged and considered, which gives them a voice in an often impersonal system. They also get to state what they need the offender to do to make amends.

40 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

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“When communities reintegrate their citizens after harm has been repaired, the likelihood of recidivism is greatly reduced. People who have offended have the opportunity to make things right, learn from the process, and put the matter behind them, so they can more easily go on to lead a crime-free life.” Secondly, it benefits victims: When victims are offered the opportunity to have a safe and facilitated dialogue with the person who harmed them, they feel empowered and invested in the process. Victims’ needs are acknowledged and considered, which gives them a voice in an often impersonal system. They also get to state what they need the offender to do to make amends. Finally, it highly benefits the people who offend. It gives them an opportunity to make it right. People who offend get the opportunity to express remorse and apologize for their actions, benefiting themselves as well as their victims. It’s a way to put the incident behind them and it provides a timely resolution with an 42 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

“We started out with the intention to focus on the communities that were affected, and to give them a voice and a choice on how things are made right.” —Carol Plante action commensurate with their crime so that they can quickly make a meaningful change in their lives. Says Plante: People who commit an offense often are myopic about their actions and don’t realize how they’ve affected others. “As they go through this process, a light bulb goes on and they see the ripple effect of the many people impacted by what they’ve done. It helps them go forward in a different way.”

Going forward Since modern restorative justice began in North America in the late 70s, initiatives have taken root internationally over the past 20 years, in New Zealand, Canada,

Australia and European countries. Programs continue to spread throughout the U.S., in areas like New York City, Minnesota, Los Angeles and Dallas, and are run by various groups including criminal justice entities such as DOCs and probation services, a Catholic Archdiocese, even a teacher’s association. If considering a program, contact Carol Plante at director.cjc@hardwickvt.org. In addition, the Centre for Justice and Restorative Justice, a program of Prison Fellowship International, located in Washington, D.C., has online resources for starting such a program. It includes a library of research papers and program and training manuals. See www.restorativejustice.org ✪

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BY MICHAEL PITTARO

Prisoners’ Manipulation of Correctional Workers: Avoiding the Psychological Trap

ON JUNE 6, 2015, convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York. Two weeks after their escape Matt and Sweat remained at large, despite a massive nationwide manhunt involving local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. The primary suspect in assisting the prisoners’ elaborate escape plan was Joyce Mitchell, who worked in the prison as a tailor shop instructor. She was arrested

and criminally accused of supplying the power tools used by Matt and Sweat to aid in their escape. Mitchell was described by close friends and former coworkers as hard-working, responsible, and trustworthy. She was supposedly a churchgoing, proud military mom and the wife of a local firefighter. It was later determined she was part of the prisoners’ getaway plan and she was eventually sentenced to up to seven years in prison. (Her parole has been consistently denied.) In my opinion, I believe Mitchell was manipulat-

ed and used as a pawn to help Matt and Sweat complete their escape plan, which is not uncommon in prison settings.

Prisoner Manipulation Strategies Criminals seek to manipulate. While this is not necessarily a new or groundbreaking fact, it is something correctional staff must understand. A research paper by Phill Dodds, “Avoiding Setups by

* Editor’s Note: After this article was published, both escapees were found by police. Richard Matt was fatally shot by law enforcement, and David Sweat was shot but not killed and was sentenced for his role in the escape plot. VISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET

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Inmates,” outlines 14 comprehensive steps that specifically detail the grooming process used by prisoners to manipulate correctional workers. In addition, Dodds also includes a number of important tips to avoid falling prey to psychological manipulation tactics used by prisoners. When I was in corrections, I worked closely with offenders who told me they try to establish a common, innocent bond with correctional workers. This often starts with an informal conversation, often about the correctional worker’s personal life. This conversation essentially opens the door to further manipulation and starts the grooming process that often follows. Even after many years on the job, I too fell for this simple, yet effective tactic.

The Frequent Occurrence of Sexual Misconduct While Mitchell and her husband have publicly rejected that she engaged in sexual relations with the inmates, such tactics are a common form of manipulation. For a brief time during my years in corrections, I served as an internal affairs investigator. I investigated allegations of prisoner misconduct and conducted in-depth background investigations of correctional officer candidates. I was also responsible for investigating allegations involving correctional worker misconduct, a far-fromglamorous part of the position. I investigated several correctional workers involved in inappropriate, unethical, and illegal sexual relations with inmates. To my surprise, all incidents involved female correctional officers or staff members engaging in sexual relations of varying degrees with male prisoners. Despite clear prohibitions and zero-tolerance policies against sexual misconduct of any sort between correctional workers and prisoners, these situations continue to occur. Such policies are 44 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2018

The majority of correctional facilities do not do enough to educate officers and staff members about personal, professional, ethical, and legal boundaries with inmates. clearly outlined within a prison’s code of ethics, the American Correctional Association’s Code of Ethics, and the law—specifically noted within the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). According to a 2013 U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics report, Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails, 4% of prison inmates and 3.2% of jail inmates self-report experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization. However, these figures are misleading because they include inmate-upon-inmate sexual victimization as well as correctional staff-upon-inmate sexual victimization.

Enhance Training and Awareness about Prisoner Manipulation One of the common responses to misconduct incidents is to create or strengthen policies or laws

in an effort to prevent future misconduct. However, such policies are unlikely to deter someone who falls prey to a prisoner’s manipulative tactics. The majority of correctional facilities do not do enough to educate officers and staff members about personal, professional, ethical, and legal boundaries with inmates. I suggest correctional administrators offer ongoing and repeatedly reinforced training, rather than just conducting training once during a correctional workers’ probationary period. This training should also be woven into other trainings. ✪ Michael Pittaro is an assistant professor of Criminal Justice at American Military University, part of the American Public University System. This article was originally published on June 25, 2015 on In Public Safety, an American Military University website.

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Continued from page 19

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Clear Solution to Contraband After hearing about the difficulty of maintaining security against contraband in typewriters that inmates owned but were not easily searched, in the early 2000’s Swintec introduced a line of clear cabinet typewriters. Ed Michael, sales manager with Swintec correctional sales, notes that it is and always has been the responsibility of the correction officer to maintain a contraband-free cell in which inmates are housed and the job of classroom instructors to maintain contraband-free classrooms and libraries. With that said, typewriters pose a problem due to the many hiding places within that are out of view, making it necessary to completely disassemble a typewriter to check for contraband within the housing of the typewriter whenever searches are done. Unfortunately, disassembling a non-clear cabinet typewriter results in a good deal of time and labor to take the typewriter apart, check for contraband and then properly reassemble it in good working order and without breaking anything. If it is damaged or inoperative, it is the responsibility of the facility to pay for repairs—which can be expensive, Michaels notes. After reassembly, a seal is placed on the typewriter with a date of inspection to show it was checked. Once it is given back to the inmate, it is only a matter of time before contraband can be slipped back in and the cycle starts all over again! Swintec clear cabinet typewriters have solved these difficult problems by making it so easy to search the typewriter in a matter of seconds without having to do anything more that to pick up

the typewriter, turn it over and around to look inside. “What an amazing time saver, cost saver and labor saver,” notes Michael. “Now the CO or librarian can go about his/her normal duties with little or no

time wasted. Items such as weapons, cell phones, drugs, notes and other contraband are no longer a problem.” Swintec carries cabinet typewriters, Model 2416DM CC with memory/display with memory capacities of 4k, 7k, 16k, 32k, 64k and 128k (k = 1,000 characters) as well as with the 80,000 word SPELLPROOF TM spell checking feature. Monitoring the inmate’s writings on the memory typewriters is easy, Michaels adds. And for facilities that would prefer the inmates not to have memory models, a non-memory version Model 2410CC is available. These clear typewriters from Swintec are in use in state and federal correctional facilities throughout the U.S., within every conceivable location—inmates’ cells, law libraries, education departments, common dorm areas, work areas such as laundries and kitchens and more. www.swintec.com edmichael@swintec.com 1.800.225.0867

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